Carpet-sewing machine



(Model) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1-.

A. NEUSTADT.- CARPET SEWING MAGHINB. I

No. 261,248. Patented July 18,118-82Q 1 I IJ Witness es N. PETERS.FInImLihwgraphur. Wamin xm n.c.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFlCE.

ALBERT NEUSTADT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CARPET-SEWING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 261 ,248, dated July18, 1882.

Application filed April 12, 1882. (ModeL) -machine which rolls upon theedges of two strips of carpeting or other fabric stretchedbetweensuspendin g hooks or supports, and while traversing from one endof the material to the other lays over its frayed or raveled edges andsews the two pieces together.

The main novel features in this machine are, first, a sewing-machineframe provided with flanged rollers which revolve upon the edges of thecarpet, while the frame slides in relief above and along the sides ofthe same; second, the frame provided with rollers having a V-shapedcircular projection or its equivalent on the tread of its peripherybetween the flanges; third, the gripper whereby the machine isintermittently or at the completion of each stitch fed alongthat is, fedalong the distance of a stitch-stopped until the stitch is made, andthen again fed along the distance of another stitch, and so on until theseam is completed; fourth, the mechanism for operating the gripper;fifth, the combination of stitch-forming mechanism, a gripper-feedingmechanism, and a sewing-machine frame provided with flangedroller-supports for rolling the machine over the edges of the carpet orother fabric; and, sixth, the combination of the stitch-formingmechanism, gripper-feedin g mechanism, frame of sewing-machine providedwith rollers for supporting and rolling it on the edges of the carpet orother fabric, one of the rollers having a V-shaped circular projectionbetween its flanges, a crank-handle, suitable speed-regulatin g gearing,and a steadyinghandle, all as will be hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the machine.Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, showing portion of two carpet-stripsin section as they appear in the front supporting-roller. Fig. 3 is adetail side view of the feed-lever and gripping mechanism and asectional view of its operating-cam. Fig. 4 is a view of the upperportion of the same,

showing the side opposite to that seen in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an edge viewof the gripper when open. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the same whenclosed. Fig. 7 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly insection, showing the gripper operating cam and lever-arm withspring-slide. Fig. 8 is a detail vertical section, showing thelooping-hook and a portion of one of its operatinglever-armsinelevation. Fig. 9 is a vertical section and partial elevation, showingthe lever-arms, the loop-formin g bar, the connecting-rod of thelever-arms, a part of the frame, and steadying'handle. Fig. 10 is an endview of the loop-forming hook and its bar and bearing; and Fig. 11 isaplan diagram of a part of the frame, the supporting-rollers, carpetstrips, needle, and loopforming hook, and a horizontal section of thegripper.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents a vertical plate forming part of frame to which the mainparts of the machine are attached; B, the operating cam-wheel; C, theneedle-bar; D D, the supporting-rollers.

To the frame-plate A the cam-wheel B is attached by means ofa pivot, b.This cam-wheel has three different cam formations for the purpose ofthree distinct operationsviz., the operation of the needle, the grippingdevice, and its feed motion. For the first purpose the camwheel Bis'provided with a doubly -inclined continuous groove, 1), in which ananti-friction roller, b travels, which roller is attached to theneedle-bar C. The lower end, 0', of the needle-bar is of T shape, and ispivoted between the pointed ends of two adjustable set-screws, csuitably hung in lugs c of the frame-plate A, and steadied by set-screwsc in said lugs. The upper end of said needle-bar is, by means of aconnecting-rod, 0 connected to the upper end of a lever-arm, E. Thelower end of the lever-arm E is pivoted at c to a rigid arm, f, of abar, F, which is fastened by a nut, f, to the plate A. A similar bar, F,is fastened by a nut, f, to the plate, and the two ends of the bars F Fare united by a oross-bar,f in a suitable 'way, the parts F F f, withplate A,

constituting a suitable frame for my improved sewing-machine.

To the extreme lower end of the arm f and to the bar F a suitablehandle, G, is attached, whereby the operator may with his left handsteady and hold the machine in the right position while sewing.

A crank-handle, G, of suitable construction is attached to the cam-wheelB, whereby said wheel is operated.

In order to steady the movements of the machine, a balance-wheel, G isprovided and suitably hung to the plate A, and this wheel is driven fromthe cam-wheel B by means ofa grooved pulley, b and a belt or cord, 9,and a grooved pulley, g, of the balance-wheel.

The arm F is provided with a flanged roller,

D, which has a central V-shaped projection or ridge, d, of much lessthickness than thewidth of the space between the flanges d d of theroller, and while the pulley is riding upon the edges of thecarpet-strips said roller D, by its flanges d, prevents thecarpet-strips from partin g,while the ridge d enters between the facesof the carpet-strips and deflects the woolen facing downward and out ofrange of the needle 0 immediately before the feed gripping-plates I I ofthe machine take hold of the thus prepared edges of the carpet-strips. Aflanged roller, D, not having a ridge, and with the flanges nearer toeach other than the flanges of roller D, is provided on the arm F inline with the roller D, and the two rollers serve to guide and hold themachine as it rolls over the carpet-strips. As an equivalentofthecontinuous V-shaped ridge d, a series of spaced segmental projectionsmight be adopted 5 or a series of spaced suitably-shaped hooks might beplaced between the flanges of the roller D for the same purpose as thecontinuous V-shaped ridge d,- and, if desired, the transverse sectionalform of the ridge (1, or of the equivalents therefor, herein mentioned,might be varied, so as to be roundinginstead of tapering, and stillperform the desired work of laying over the frayed edges out of therange of the needle.

The gripping device is an adjunct to and forms a part of the feeding orpropelling device, which consists of a longitudinally-vibrating bar,(denominated herein the feed-lever E.) This feed-lever is pivoted at hto the frameplate A, and the upper portion of it moves back and forththe length of the respective stitches in a horizontal slot, at, of astepped upper portion, a, of said frame-plate A. By forming the platewith the slotted stepped portion a the upper portion of the lever H canbe passed through this plate, so as to have it stand on that side of theplate A where the rollersD D are located, and on which side the two flatgripping-plates I of the gripping device are pivoted at t to the upperend of the lever H at a suitable distance above the edges of the carpet.The gripping-plates I are provided with arms i, which are connected bymeans of pivot-pins i and oblong slots to the head J of a sliding bar,9'. The lower end of the sliding bar j is provided with a foot-plate,

J having a vertical central slot, j g-through it, which permits aset-screw, j, to pass into the lever H, and thus hold the slide-bar tothe lever. A spring, k, suitably fastened to the lever H and bearingwith one end into a notch, 3' of the foot-platej serves to draw theslide down and simultaneously open the grippingplates and keep them openduring the time the gripper is being moved back to take a new bite forfeeding the machine along. The lower end, j of the sliding barj restsupon a lever, J, which is pivoted at j to the plate A and bears upon acam, b of the cam-wheel B, and thus the proper motion is given to thesliding head J and the gripper-plates I, as will hereinafter be. seen.The lever H is provided with a cam formation, h, opposite a cam,'b ofthe camwheel B, in order that it may be moved forward the distance ofthe required length of stitch, and with a spring, b suitably fastened tothe plate A and bearing against the lever H, so as to keep the cams hand b in working contact, and also to cause a return of the lever H,with gripper attached, to a position for producing a new feed of themachine at the moment the needle has receded to its starting position.This construction gives the proper propelling or feed motion to thegrippingplates, as will be hereinafter seen. In order to allow theneedle 0 to freely enter the carpet strips, the plate A is provided witha hole, M, the lever H with a horizontal slot, h and the gripping-platesI with horizontal slots 2. Opposite the needle, on the other side of theplate A, a looping-hook, K, is provided, which is fastened to avibrating bar, It, suitably hung to the bar f and a bearing, 70, on thebar F.

The bar It has two spiral twists, as W, formed on it, and over thisspiral-thread formation It two parallel lugs, 6, one on the arm E andthe other on a branch arm, 6 pass back and forward with the needle-bar.By this construction the looper-hook K is properly vibrated back andforward with each back and forward movement of the needle, and forms theloop of a double chain-stitch in the ordinary well-known way. The hook Kand the needle 0 are each supplied with thread from spools L and L,suitably attached to the plate A and armf.

Inasmuch as I do not desire to confine my invention to any one specificmechanism for forming stitches, but purpose to employ any other knownstitch-forming mechanism which can be practically applied for use inconnection with my gripper-feed mechanism, flanged rollers, and rollingsuspended supporting-frame, and other parts employed as adjunctsthereto, I will,without further description of such mechanism, nowproceed to describe the several stages of operation of the feed orgripping and propelling mechanism with respect to the specialstitch-formin g mechanism shownviz., a reciprocating eye, pointedneedle, and a vibrating perforated or thread-carrying looper. Themachine described having been placed upon the edges of the suspendedcarpet-strips or other pieces of fabric to be united, the operatorplaces his left hand on the handle to steady it, and turns theactuating-cam with his right hand applied to the crank-handle. As themachine moves along the roller D lays aside or down the frayed or loosewool edges of the carpet. The gripping-plates I grip the carpet-stripsthus prepared by roller D. The whole sewing-machine is caused by thegrippers to roll forward the distance of the required stitch, itswinging on the pivot h of the lever H and rolling on rollers D D. Thethreaded needle now passes through the plate A, lever H, and one of thegripping-plates, carpet strips, and then through the othergripping-plate. The needle now recedes, and thereupon the threadedlooper is set in motion and caused to take the loop of the needle, whichit retains in proper relation to its.

own thread until the needle again advances,

- when by a reverse movement of the looper the loop is freed from it andthe stitch is tightened or completed upon the fabric at the nextreceding movement of the needle. Previously to theabove-mentioned secondadvance of the needle the gripper-plates I I are opened and swung backby the spring K drawing down the slidej, and are made to bite upon thecarpet and to feed the machine along the distance of another stitch bythe cam b acting on the lever H; and while these operations areproceeding the needle maintains its starting position outside the plateA; but as soon as the feeding of the machine forward the distance of astitch is accomplished the needle makes the aforesaid second advance,the looper casts off its loop and assumes a position for taking the loopabout to be formed by the backward movement of the needle, and thestitch, as before stated, is tightened or completed during thesubsequent operation of the parts, and thus the operation proceeds untilthe seam is completed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with stitch-forming mechanism, a suspended framehaving one or more supporting flanged rollers which travel upon theedges of the carpet-strips or pieces of fabric to be united,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with a sewing-machine frame and stitch-formingmechanism, the suspending and supporting flanged roller D and thesuspending and supporting roller D, having a projection or ridge, d,substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A gripper-feeding device applied on the sewing-machine above and oneach side of the edges of the carpet or other fabric, opened out fromthe sides and closed against the sides of said edges, and having itsfeed-lever H pivoted to the frame A below the needle, in combinationwith stitch-forming mechanism mounted on a frame which is suspendedupon, supported by, and moved on the edgesof the carpetstrip,substantially as and for the purpose de-' scribed.

4. In a carpet-sewing machine, the combination of suitable actuatingmechanism, the gripping-plates I, pivoted to the feed-bar H at t and tothe head J of slide j, spring k, lever J, and cam b substantially as andfor the purpose described.

5. A gripper feeding device consisting of pivoted and perforated plates1, which are connected to a feeding-lever, H, in combination with acarpet-sewing-machine frame-plate, A, having a perforation through itfor a horizontally-vibrating needle, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

6. The combination of a stitch-formingmeohanism, a gripper-feedin gmechanism, a sewingmachine frame, and flanged rollersD D,which roll uponthe edges of the carpet or other fabric to be united, substantially asand for the purpose described.

7. The combination of astitch-formingmechanism, gripper-feedingmechanism, a sewingmachine frame having supporting flanged rollers D D,one of which has a V-shaped central circular ridge, d, a crank-handle,G, suitable speed regulating gearing, and a steadyinghandle, G,substantially as and for the pur- G. I. S. HYAMS, M. D. WITTGENSTEIN.

